For Chelsea fans, the World Cup has been a tough watch.
Christian Pulisic was sensational for the United States on their push to the round of 16, contributing to three goals across four games - the same return he managed in 18 club appearances before the World Cup.
Kai Havertz scored twice in three games and has four in seven for his country this year, having also bagged just four goals in his 20 outings for Chelsea.
As for Hakim Ziyech, who has been a core part of Morocco's miraculous run to the semi-final, he's been flashing the sort of form that convinced Chelsea to sign him in the first place, and the sort of form that the Blues haven't seen since.
You'd think the future is bright for Chelsea's forward line, but in reality, it isn't.
Pulisic and Ziyech are on the fringes of Graham Potter's squad having failed to show any real quality over an extended period of time for months and months now, while persisting with Havertz earned Potter some criticism before the World Cup break began.
Fixing Chelsea's forward line is one of Potter's primary challenges heading into the return of club football, and with most of his senior players otherwise occupied, he may have found an answer among the crop of youngsters who made up the numbers during the team's warm weather camp in Abu Dhabi.
Enter Omari Hutchinson.
The 19-year-old has been among England's most intriguing talents for a good few years now and took the bold move of swapping Arsenal for Chelsea during the summer, with the Blues vowing to turn him into a star.
After a series of dazzling performances for the Under-21s, Hutchinson has featured on the bench for Potter's side but fell victim to his age and the lack of faith instilled in youngsters when their senior teammates are failing to get the job done, and so didn't make it off the bench.
Opportunity finally came knocking in Sunday's friendly against Aston Villa, in which Hutchinson was undoubtedly the star of the show for a very young Chelsea side.
Now, while we mustn't overreact to one performance in one friendly, we're absolutely going to overreact to one performance in one friendly.
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What Hutchinson showed during his time on the pitch against Villa, whose squad included a number of Premier League players, was the sort of attacking flair that Blues fans haven't seen since Eden Hazard's time at the club.
The 19-year-old would receive the ball on the turn and start driving at defenders without hesitating, clearly relishing the challenge of skipping past as many opponents as possible and making something happen, rather than threatening to do so before turning and passing backwards.
Hutchinson didn't score, but he did come as close as anyone in Chelsea blue, dancing past two defenders before firing a bending strike which crashed away off the post.
Potter was aware of Hutchinson's talent before this friendly and will undoubtedly have been left impressed by what he saw against Villa, with the teenager clearly making the most of his rare opportunity to command the spotlight.
‘"He was really good, dangerous and asked a question all the time," the boss said after the game. "Throughout the game he showed his quality but he wasn’t the only one. It was a spirited performance with a lot of young players so it was good."
With Chelsea's attack lacking any sort of spark heading into the break - they failed to score in their last two games and have netted just twice in their last five - players like Hutchinson are exactly what the Blues are crying out for.
With Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest on the cards before a tough test against Manchester City, Potter will never have a better chance to give Hutchinson a taste of senior football. The 19-year-old deserves it and, based on an ever-growing sample size, looks ready to try himself at the highest level.
Source : 90min